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[perplexed]

the thing that strikes me about this pic is that it has a definite edge, which means that we can rouhgly judge the shape, in my opinion... i have a hunch, but im going to do a little research first

[chippy]

anyone tried seeing what question is asked when trying to solve?

[Seej]

[BrianEnigma]

The answer is NOT:
sunspots
shadows
fault lines

[oliverkeers13]

Nor is it:
Heat Cracking
visual cortex
or pyramidal neurons

[iwozframed]

OK it might not be of any use but whilst shopping i came across this album and all i could think of was Sasuntsi Davit's terragen pics.

Unknown pleasure by Joy division

[stuart437]

ok its also not Synthetic Aperture Radar incase anyone types elucidate image into google

i know why would you but i thought it was worth a try

[dusty2229]

It is also none of the below
(though I'm sure the answer it's along these lines (excuse the pun) somewhere...maybe.....maybe not)

California Continental Borderland
Earthquake Physics
LIDAR

[locqust]

Hey all,

just reading through the posts and something in them jogged my memory about what this could possibly be... Molecular clouds showing density and relative position in space. "The throw light on" bit being one of the ways these clouds in space are detected. By the emission of radio waves in the Hydrogen part of the spectrum.

Not too sure what the lines would have to do with it, unless it could be just sommat to throw us off.

[oliverkeers13]

OK. I'm absoloutely certain I have a lead on this card. There are lines and blobs on this card. Lines exist where there are no blobs. In the places where there are no blobs, the lines can change in darkness. The blobs exist where the lines get darker. The blobs also follow the pattern of the lines. The blobs (see the top "H" shaped one of the card) can join up.
This has led me to this conclusion:
The line is lighter where the image is shallower, and darker where it is deeper.
The blobs are created by deeper lines
The blobs are attracted to each other, magnetically or electrically.

I am absoloutely certain about this. Hope it helped.

[locqust]

all that springs to mind now is a lava lamp!

[Seej]

[locqust]

ok after trawling through hundreds of search results on yahoo and google i found this which although not quite like it, is close to the pic on the card. Thing is im not too sure what we could call it from the text with the pic. (the pic in question is on page 1 near the bottom)

the web address is
www.iaea.org/programmes/ripc/physics/pdf/ifp_05.pdf

and another lead that may help is
www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/user/ngb23/publications/capture.pdf

(the thing oliverkeers13 said bout magnetic and/or electrical attraction got me thinking that this could be a possibility)

[locqust]

Oh and Hohlraum x-ray image doesnt work so don't waste your try with that!

[Wowbagger]

Now, I won't pretend to know an awful lot about such things, but locqust's 2nd link is intriguing, seeing as it leads to a paper about Bose-Einstein condensates.

Given all the talk regarding light (and the actual meaning of "elucidate"), presumably the fact that Bose condensates can reduce the apparent speed of light to a few metres per second could be relevant here?

Admittedly my knowledge of this has essentially come off the back of a cornflakes packet (Wikipedia), so if some physics-types could dismiss me out of hand/take it further, it's over to you.

Or I'm just miles off.